Family hardiness, social support, and self-efficacy in mothers of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Family hardiness is an important construct to understand coping in parents of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), who are often at risk for considerable distress in the face of multiple stressors. The current study examined family hardiness, perceived social support and parent self-efficacy as predictors of family distress in 138 mothers of individuals with ASD, 4-41 years of age. Using a multiple mediation analysis, we demonstrated that perceived self-efficacy and social support mediated the link between the pile-up of stressors and family hardiness, and that hardiness was a partial mediator in explaining how stressors were associated with family distress. Researchers and clinicians should consider the role that perceived social support and parent self-efficacy play in explaining family hardiness, and how the perception of such hardiness is associated with less distress.